And Wolf Creek: Not so great.

But horror is not a genre I particularly take to. I watched it cause the TV is right next to my computer! (I happen to watch a lot of crappy movies that way)

I think it might be nominated, but I don't think it has a chance in hell against Volver.

I really appreciate it, and I'm glad a few people have made time for it.

OK, i need to plug SOMERSAULT a bit more.

Anyway, I think Cate Shortland's direction is quite similar in lots of ways to Jane Champion. Who in her own right, has made some great efforts on celluloid even if they have been overlooked.

Just to let everyone know, Wednesday we will have a special Cate Blanchett day. So grab any Cate Blanchett movie, so we can just keep talking about this woman.

Ok, here's one for you. Before I started my recent job, I worked for a summer in a different library. This was after The Aviator and her Oscar win, and also after Coffee and Cigarettes.

He said she "sold out."

I'm still trying to put my finger on what that means in the film industry, as no one stays in indie sub-1 million grossers for over a decade unless they're fools. I love movies and try to go for ones I think are cerebral, but they've still movies. They're still all 95-150 minutes in length and emplot pretty similar technical tools and narrative styles. We're not talking post War-cinema, which I think took film as far as its ever going to get. The medium has its limits. Its also much more of an indistry now. So what exactly does "selling out" mean, especially to this guy (whom I did not think highly of, btw)? I think she does a good job moving between smaller and larger films.

For every Aviator she does (and I wouldn't exactly call Aviator the same thing as Stealth) she does a Babel, Little Fish, Coffee and Cigarettes skit, and an Elizabeth. Even the big movies she chooses she doesn't necessarily play the cutuest roles (aka, American Romcoms). She's probably done some romcoms by now too, but this is how you keep the attention up so that when you get recruited to smaller projects, those projects get a theatre run. Her and Kidman are the kind of women that can get a theatre run for any movie they are in here in the States, and that doesn't mean sitting in 5 dollar budget movies your whole life. Not even Parker Posie did that. No one does. Gael Garcia Bernal, and Julie Delpy, they all tried (or are still trying) to do some bigger roles as well. She's also just finished a theatre performance run, where she was part of a production of Hedda Gabler over here. I saw it. It was a pretty straightforeward, traditional interpretation, but Gabler isn't exactly Broadway musicals either.

I like her quite a bit. I think she's got a good eye for roles and alot of skill. She's going to be someone that goes the route of Hackman (and I mean this is a complement) and takes roles until she is 80. She won't thumb the big 1 million dollar roles n the nose, but she'll always keep a good mix together, and she's lucky to keep an eye on both sides of the Pacific for emerging films.

Well I was lucky to see Somersault on its run in the British Isles (for some strange reason we get the Aussie movies first) and its well worth a rent. It shows the relative innocence of a young girl learning about life while avoiding the easy realm of cliche. The main character is very interesting and everyone around there stands up well also. Overall its an indie gem.

Wolf Creek is a difficult one to judge. I was dieing to see it before it came out and afterwards I was unsure how to judge it. I t isn't scary in the traditional sense but the camerawork and foreboding is very well done. John Jarratt is by far the best think in the movie, he embodies evil like no other actor I have ever seen. But its raping of real-life outback murders does leave a bad taste in the mouth. In the end its a movie for the Horror fan's and no others.

The Proposition is easily the best of the movie of the movies listed. It's a delightfully perverse take on the classic western from a definite Aussie perspective. The landscapes and characters the choices its all spot on. Indeed I don't want to spoil it by giving away details. Go watch it if you haven't it's worth it.

In respect to getluv my Cate Blanchett movie would be "Veronica Guerin". As a movie its rather disjointed and weak but Blancett is superb in the main role. She elevates a sub par movie above the mess to something impressive which is the sign of an excellent actress.

I swear, Cate Blanchett could be in a Wal-Mart store, and it would be the most interesting thing ever.

Not one of her performances in any movie could be described as lazy, boring or irrelevant. She has the ability to take control like no one elses business.

And its great to see 3 Cate Blanchett movies out in 3 months. Exciting.

Happy Cate Blanchett day.

She's been the highlight of Hollywood for the past few years, or at least one of the few "stars". I've been an extremely huge fan since I saw her first in (her small, but nonetheless wonderful role in) The Talented Mr. Ripley. She was, of course, superb in The Aviator and pleasant to see in The Life Aquatic (though by no means a standout, unfortunately).

I can't wait to see her dueling with Dench in the next few months. And the Good German, AND Babel? Nice. All potential award-candidate films.

Well, ok,, so getluv and Gullimont both liked this movie, Somersault. I just finished it now, and I am undecided, so I am going to think out loud here.

My initial response was to say "So, this is like all other coming of age movies, except for here in the states the girls do drugs, not just drink and have sex, they cuss a little bit more, and tend to be represented as 13 not 16."

But I realize my own message is ringing on dead ears. I often say its not what you say, but how you say it, that can really make or break a film, because heaven knowns how many similar plots have been done, and I love many versions of the same story because of the details, and the film treatment, so I need to give this a fair chance.

I liked how it looked. I thought on a technical level the director did a good job, and the bleached out colors and kind of barren iceland look was nice. I liked how sometimes the inside of the clubs Heidi went to kind of blended into the rest of the film tonally.

I'm not sure if the visuals really added anything to the story though. Mostly because this isn't really such a bleak story. Its a coming of age story, where Heidi supposedly becomes a richer person, not a more isolated one. She begins the movie more isloated (hitting on Mum's boyfriend) than in the end when she finally stops throwing herself at guys and respects the relationship she liked with Joe for what it was. It takes her a long time to get to this point...where she can make mature decisions about her relationships, and I think that it the point of her story. But she does eventually get to this, which is nice, but not too surprising.

I didn't really like any of the guys. Mum's boyfriend was sleavy and I'm wondering if it was such a serious relationship to begin with that her mom would totally freak out. Every guy Heidi meets pretty much jumps her in ten seconds (I noticed a remarkable lack of condom dawning in all these scenes which is always surprising in teen movies made in 2006. I know people want to have fun, and will do one night stands. I'm not challenging that in the least, but at this point if someone is willing to jump you after ten minutes in a bar, you'd think even 16-20 year olds would wonder where else they have been. This isn't the boondocks.....of is it???? Do people in the boondocks know about condoms yet?). That was sarcasm.

Its also the big stickler for me. I know obsessing over condom use seems surreal, but to me its more a way the director makes every single guy completely willing to take advantage of her, and all of them are dirty, irresponsible, abusive people. The guys that are willing to have sex with her when she's practically passed out may happen, but since its the second or third time in the movie with events like this, there must be alot of jerkyreally terrible teens in Australia, not just one or two? I guess these are supposed to serve as a counter-point to Joe, who has had alot of one night stands himself, but is apparently "more sensitive" compared to everyone else. And he is, which is nice, I guess.

I like how he asks her to open her eyes when he's making out with her. I worried it would be corny from that point on, so I'm thankful it wasn't. When Heidi scarfs the chilis I thought, this is going to get good. Be a really self-destructive girl. But I disagree with Gullimont that it didn't get cliche from there on. I think the entire "last act" was seriously cliche, so it was a bit of a let down. Everyone's sudden realizations, everyone's relationships mended, yet...nothing changes. And I'm a bit confused about Heidi coming upon the autisitic brother on the trampoline. I mean, some parallels the director might have been making pop to mind, but they seem really counterproductive, and maybe a little mean spirited (to both sides) so I think I'm missing something? Anyone have their insight into that scene?

I guess, overall, I enjoyed looking at it, and liked how it unfolded as I watched, but it doesn't really leave me with any lasting impressions. Nothing too profound to say about Heidi's maturation process, or all the men she meets in this small town, or the landscape of the town itself (though through the cinematography this aspect comes closest). I didn't hate it, not at all, I'm just not sure if its all that memorable.

Bummer that you didn't like it as much as me or getluv Dolce.

I thought all the set-ups were very consistant with what I thought a real life girl would be forced to do in her situation, and even thou large amounts of the film could be reduced to vingette's as a whole I thought it held together very well.

Still this is why film debate is so enjoyable. differring opinions.

Oh, I thought it held together quite well, also. For me, it was more that while the girl may have been forced to do what she did to "survive", she wouldn't have been so distant, or should I say, empty-headed about it. She just didn't seem to respond much, like if she was in a semi-permanent pothead state. I know that's a rude way to present it, but she just seemed very, hmmm, flighty? Also, most of what she did was optional, the job and the apartment she actually got not by sleeping around. I actually didn't mind that most of her sex was a choice on her part. It made it a potentially smarter movie than just saying "Girl forced into prostitution after running away from home." So, as I said, I didn't hate it, case in point, it could have been much worse. I guess i just found it a bit typical? How men were all willing to take advantage of her during her "curious" phase, and also just how un worried about themselves they were.

Bad boys...innocent girl. And when I say innocent, its because I believe someone can be highly sexualized, or sexually explorative, and still be innocent, which I think is what the director was ultimately trying to say. That Heidi thought she knew what she wanted, but in relity didn't, until the end where she finally gets some sense and a sense of independence. Its not bad, just not stunning either. The strength of this movie was definately the "film" aspects of it more than the storytelling/dialogue aspects. The movie was very dreamy, beautiful, and bleak. A very soft touch, and the actress who played Heidi was perfect for the role and matched the landscape as well. Sometimes I find the look and feel of a movie to be "good enough" on its own to warrant respect, but othertimes I catch myself thinking the graininess and bleakness were misleading, and made scenes more profound than they actually were.

Very astute Dolce. However, while I do think the final act needed to be re-written, I do think a few key scenes sort of made the film for me. For example the bit when the father pulls over. I was so overwhelmed by that scene alone, I nearly walked out. It felt very horror-esque. I don't know why I was touched by that scene, maybe its because I wasn't expecting something so subtle to be so intense.